The doctrines of a Materialist, who maintains that the soul and spirit are effects of matter. The orthodox doctrine is that the soul is distinct from the body, and is a portion of the Divine essence breathed into the body. A materialist, of course, does not believe in a spiritual deity distinct from matter. Tertullian contended that the Bible proves the soul to be material, and he charges the spiritual view to the heretical doctrines of the Platonic school.